Art Prints

Art Prints - A. Hidahl Art - 2016 - ?

One of the many offerings of A. Hidahl Art, LLC!

Colorado Weather

Colorado Weather - A Hidahl - 2015 - ?

Colorado Weather

A beautiful Saturday morning.

A weather front moves in, obscuring the mountains from view.

After a few hours of snow and wind, the sky clears;

just in time for a beautiful sunset,

behind the freshly-snown mountains.

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Geometric Eye

Geometric Eye - A Hidahl - 2015 - ?

If you haven't noticed, I really like making eyes, of various sorts.  I find eyes to be fascinating, for a few different reasons:

First, eyes have long been called "The gateway to the soul"; a sentiment that I find true.  I should add, I don't see a "soul" as being a component of religion; but as a component, or perhaps the entirety, of a person or animal's personality. A soul is a collection of individual experiences, spread out over one's entire lifetime; which combine to create a complete person.  If you know what you're looking for, the eyes can tell quite a compelling story, in the few moments that you're looking into them.

Secondly, I like the geometry of eyes.  Intricately-operating machines.  The oldest cameras known to man.

It was the geometry of the eye that inspired this particular work.  Particularly, the almost perfectly symmetrical geometry within the lens and iris.

In this work, the aforementioned geometry is highlighted and displayed in a geometric fashion; broken down to it's most basic elements, without the detail found in a real eye.

Inhale, Exhale

Colorado Flag Smoking - (c)2015 - A Hidahl - ?

Colorado Flag Exhaling - (c)2015 - A Hidahl - ?

As a proud Coloradan, I take PRIDE in our great State's legalization of marijuana,

and the good that it's done for our tax base, schools, and growth as a society!

I take PRIDE in the positive changes it's brought!

I take PRIDE in the fact that it's helping to increase our cultural base!

I take PRIDE in the fact that we now have the highest number of emerging artists IN THE NATION!

I take PRIDE in the horticultural craft and perfectionism of our local growers!

I take PRIDE in the trail-blazing nature of Colorado!

I take PRIDE in the growing artistic culture around glass-blowing!

There's a lot to be PROUD of, as a Colorado pot smoker!!!

Keep on smokin'!

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Infinite Lemur of the Universe

Infinite Lemur of the Galaxy - A Hidahl - 2015

Sometimes, I look at my older designs and I think, "You know, I think I can do that better, now..."

This is one of those occasions.  When I was first teaching myself to use the design program I use, I made something that I called "Infinite Lemur".  I've always liked the design, but for a while now, I've been thinking I could redo it in a little different way... so I did.

There's no real "meaning" to this, or "greater purpose"... I just like the way the lines come together, and the quizzical, but surprised expression on the lemur's face.  In all honesty, I just like lemurs in general.

303 Smiles

303 Smiles, by AHidahl

Denver, Colorado has a lot to offer, to the person who isn't afraid to look away from the path they walk on.

Look up.

Look around.

The more you do, the more cool stuff you'll see.

Redtail Hawks, Golden Eagles, and Peregrine Falcons are more common than some people realize, or are willful to observe.

Some of the most talented artists in the WORLD reside in Denver!  Their/our work can be found in more places than just galleries and art festivals... you'll find it everywhere you're not looking, and in more of the places you're looking past.

It's not hard to find wildlife here... raccoons, foxes, deer, muskrats, beavers... 

... and just like the hidden smiles that come from seeing the things that only last a few seconds, there are several hidden smiles in this depiction of the Colorado flag!  Some of them are kind of abstract and need a little imagination to see them, but they're there... trust me.

Colorado Flags

***THIS POST WILL BE EDITED AS MORE WORK IS CREATED***

I LOVE making Colorado flags!

The design of the flag leaves for a lot of creative dialogue with the shapes. It becomes easy to create things that play nicely with the shapes in creative and original ways.

As you'll see, my focus has typically been on adapting mountain designs into the flag, being that I have a profound love of the mountains and hiking, and of Colorado's natural beauty.  That being said, the shapes, in general, offer a lot of playful intrigue; and can be adapted in a wide variety of ways.

Enjoy!

Colorado Multi

Colorado Double Barrel

Colorado Flag Exhaling

Colorado Flag Smoking

303 Day

Colorado Geek

303 Pride

Colorado Sunset

Purple Mountains Majesty

Sunset

I think it's obvious by now, that I love Colorado.

I love the nature.

I love the mountains.

I love the altitude.

I love the flag.

One of the things that consistently amazes me, are the sunsets.

The hills and valleys of the mountains, accented by the day's last light.

The glowing ridges of the peaks.

The psychedelic colors that fill the sky.

The blindingly silver highlights on the clouds.

All of it enhanced and embraced by the sounds of the local aviary skybound companions of the Earth in a glorious, peaceful cacophony of nature's most awesome sights and sounds.

A daily celebration of light and beauty, gifted to anyone lucky enough to partake.

13 Questions

13 Questions

I thought it might be about time to play a little "Getting to Know You".  As an artist, I thought it would be a good idea to ask these 13 questions, using 13 unique ornate question marks, including the master image above.

So, here it is... 13 questions, accompanied by 13 original, hand-made question marks.

Question 1

Who/what are your biggest creative influences?

Answer

I take inspiration from several places.  Life experiences, awesome views, the beautiful State of Colorado, and the AWESOME city of Denver, to start... but there's always influence that comes from other artists I like.  For example, Monet, Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Banksy... music plays a role, too... and then, of course, there's always pot; which is always a blast of creative energy...

Question 2

Some of your writing and art incorporates themes that might be considered... um... perhaps a little angry, or maybe controversial... where does this come from?

Answer

 I think most people carry certain elements of their adolescent years with them for the rest of their lives, whether they realize it or not.  In my case, this is the music I listened to in High School; which included a lot of punk and other things with "anti-establishment" messaging.  I listened to (and still listen to) a lot of bands like Dead Kennedys, NOFX, Black Flag, Propagandhi, Ministry... and then, of course, in the 90's, we had popular stuff like Rage Against the Machine, Rollins Band, and stuff like that...

It all kind of congealed into this person here; still fairly "extreme"... still hate the rich... still hate monopolies and "Corporate America" in general... and, of course, the "religious Right"... I see a lot of these things as genuine threats to society and civilization as a whole.  Often, great art is done in protest of social norms and the "status quo".  However, I don't want this kind of negativity and vitriol, as ever-present as it is in my own mind, to overshadow my greater message.

 Question 3

On that note, what IS your greater message?

Answer

 My greater message is somewhat simple.  I want people to focus more on the simple beauty in the world; like sunsets, and hiking, and great music and food... but also, to find the beauty in their more painful emotions, like anger, and sadness, and hate, and things like that...

The good stuff in life wouldn't be as good, if the shitty parts of life weren't there.  You need the pain to make the pleasure ACTUALLY pleasurable.  You have to have that counter-balance; and in that regard, it's a beautiful thing; despite how painful it is to go through it.

Question 4

Expanding on your answer there, what painful experiences have contributed to your happiness now?

Answer

That's a tough question... starting in First Grade, life was really hard for me.  My First Grade teacher was very abusive.  She used to beat me up in front of the class; and she ONLY picked on me... nobody else.  After that, I was bullied the entire rest of the way through school... Middle School was the worst... I'd get jumped at least once a week... the teachers would WATCH, and wouldn't do anything.  But when I fought back, for some reason, they suspended ME for doing so.

Other painful experiences include a very abusive marriage, in which I was treated like a slave (literally) for 6 1/2 years... there were shitty bosses that have added to the equation, too...

Of course, the untimely death of my younger brother in 2007 has been hard to deal with, as well.

Question 5

How has your brother been an influence in your life?

Answer
 My brother was one of the smartest, most creative people I've ever been privileged to know.  My brother was instrumental in a lot of ways.  He got me to be more open-minded about the music I listen to.  His art was AMAZING... kind of similar to Rob Zombie's style, originally, and evolved from there.

He lost a bet, and wound up with a miniscule tattoo of a question mark; a symbol that he had kind of kicked around as a personal logo.  That was the only tattoo he had.  I've always liked tattoos, and a few years after he died, I got a question mark of my own tattooed on my right shoulder.  Now, I feel like he's always with me, in a way... it helps.

My brother was also one of the best guitarists I've ever known.  To be honest, I haven't picked up my guitar much lately, without him to jam with.  He pushed me to be a better guitarist.  Lately, I guess I've substituted singing for guitar.

Question 6
Let's lighten the mood a little bit, and change directions... we don't want to depress people, here... what music do you listen to while you work?

Answer
My playlist is somewhat diverse... it IS kind of heavy on the punk/ska side, but some of the bands that get the most play are Black Flag, Eels, Streetlight Manifesto, Richard Cheese... also lots of local music, like MF Ruckus, The Windermeres, -ITIS, Black Dots, Flobots, City Mouse, Warlock Pinchers, and a few others... Denver's always had an AWESOME music scene!

Question 7
Does your music affect your art? If so, how?

Answer
Really, it depends on what I'm working on... for most things, I just run a massive playlist called "Shit I Like" and throw the thing on 'random'... the biggest difference comes if I'm feeling angry, or working on a piece that's aggressive or angry... if I'm doing something like that, I throw on Slayer, or Mushroomhead, or something heavier, like that... but for the most part, it's just the playlist.

Question 8
Why do you make art?

Answer
Wow, a somewhat basic one... there are lots of reasons; but mainly, it's an escape and an output from the more painful things in my life, and in my past.  I have somewhat severe PTSD, and my art gives me a way to focus on the things I love, while channeling my pain into my more aggressive or angry pieces.  At the risk of making this a 'political' thing, I would also like to advocate the use of marijuana in treatment of PTSD.  That's something that I don't think a lot of people understand about pot, and about me, and my relationship to pot.  It helps.  A lot.  Without pot, there are days I don't want to leave the house.

Question 9
What are your favorite things to make?

Answer
I really enjoy making the things that have a Colorado theme, or a Colorado flag theme... they make me look forward to my Spring and Summer hiking escapes, and snowboarding in the winter... I like making those, but I don't necessarily want to be KNOWN for those; I want to be known, more, for making things that people want to put on their walls, and things that make people think.  I also want to make things that highlight the life of someone that doesn't fit into any kind of societal 'box'.

Question 10
Could you expand on that, please?

Answer
 I've never really been the kind of person who completely "fits in" with any certain group.  There are a lot of different sides to me, and I 'get along' with a lot of people, and I can relate to a lot of people, but I've never been able to say, definitively, "I'm a punk," or "I'm a goth," or "I'm a hippy," or "I'm a (fill in the blank)"... I think, in a way, I've always been looking for the right group of people or sub-culture to 'fit in' with... but my tastes are so diverse, and my thought process is so different from everybody else's, I think, that there's always that 'one thing' that sets me aside as 'not an official part' of any group... something different in every 'scene', and for different reasons, and it usually boils down to something like, "If you like (fill in the blank), or if you don't like (fill in the blank), then you're not really 'one of us'." That 'absolutist' line of thinking irritates the shit out of me.

Question 11
Let's go back to the 'pot' thing... aside from art, what do you like to do stoned?

Answer
My favorite thing is to watch horror movies... I've always had an affinity for horror, and it's always scarier when you're stoned.  I also like hiking, and museums, and live music... of course, eating a gourmet hamburger, with a fried egg, and maybe some green chili... a GOOD burger... eating is always great when you're stoned!

Question 12
Where can I buy prints of your work?

Answer
I do not yet have a web store, but if there's something you want to buy, shoot me an email and I'll price it out for you... I'll get you what you want.




Question 13
In the master piece, with all the question marks, where is the 13th question mark?

 Answer
 I sign every piece with a hidden question mark.  In part, this is homage to my brother; but also, I don't want people to like my art because they like my art... not because I'm the person who made it.  A lot of people... art snobs, mostly... look at the signature before they look at the painting... they'll love or hate the work purely based on who made it, rather than whether they ACTUALLY like it.  With hiding my signature, I'm able to sign my piece in a way that works with the aesthetics of the piece, without distracting the part of the audience that's more concerned about who made it than what it is.

To answer your question, the thirteenth question mark is my hidden signature.  If you look for it, you might find it.





Closing

Thank you for taking time to get to know your artist!  I hope that you learned some things about me as an artist, and that you are intrigued to continue enjoying my work!

Have a great day, all!

Purple Mountains Majesty

Purple Mountains' Majesty

Await me every day.

The benefits of living in Denver.

To find peace

I need only look West

And feel the call to nature.

Escape to higher ground

With fewer people

And less stress.

No more assholes.

No more car horns.

No more city noise.

A short journey

Into the heart of beauty

And a view that only Gods were meant to see.

Snow in July

Beat the heat

With a snowball fight.

No more pain

No more confusion

A mental 'reset' button.

An ascendance to solitude

Makes the mind

Feel refreshed and inspired.

AH 2015

Two Kinds of Life

Life is not necessarily what we perceive it to be.

There's the life we acknowledge: Nature

... but what of the life we create, through SCIENCE!

Science seeks, both, to explain life and to replicate it or protect it, where applicable; which is no different than creating it.

Science re-creates life every day...

Through lives saved with medicine...

To machines given life through electricity...

To advances in Agriculture, that allow us to keep eating...

To learning about natural phenomena, allowing us to be better protected when emergencies happen...

Science creates life every day, just like nature does.

And I believe that the two are intrinsically important to respect and admire.

I believe that both hold secrets to the mysteries in the world

and make the world more beautiful

and more tolerable.

They make me see a better tomorrow.

They give me hope.

They erase my pain; even for just a little while.

And let me see that the world, and the people in it, aren't necessarily so bad.